The present invention relates to computer network communication, and more particularly, to centrally managed collaboration among multiple terminal devices during a virtual session.
Various computer systems may use a thin-client or a virtual desktop display in conjunction with a centralized server computer system or mainframe. Virtualization is a logical representation of a computer in software. By decoupling the physical hardware from aspects of operation, virtualization may provide more operational flexibility and increase the utilization rate of the underlying physical hardware. Although virtualization is implemented primarily in software, many modern microprocessors now include hardware features explicitly designed to improve the efficiency of the virtualization process.
During a virtual session, a certain amount of computing functionality may be performed at a host computer on behalf of a user connected to a terminal device. Input/output (I/O) functionality for the virtual session may be exchanged between the terminal device and the host computer. However, in many instances, users may have access to different terminal devices or other peripheral devices at different times. These different peripheral devices may offer heterogeneous sets of capabilities and functionalities. There is a need, therefore, for systems and methods allowing a user to dynamically collaborate among multiple devices in a virtual session.